Lost in the Storm
by E person
Summary: On the day of their two year anniversary, Vaughn's ship doesn't arrive. Chelsea, despite the protests from her friends, sits on the deck and waits for her boyfriend, even risking sitting through a hurricane just to see him one last time. SD's dares entry.


**This story is for Swingdancer23's Dares Forum. It is based off of the Hurricane of 1938. **

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><p>"Hey Jules, wasn't Vaughn supposed to be here three hours ago?" Chelsea asked as she hurriedly caught up with the strawberry-blonde haired girl who was speed-walking by.<p>

"You're panicking too, huh?" Julia replied in her usual comforting voice but this time, there was a dead tone to it. The two girls made their way to the beach. Julia's blue eyes scanned the ocean in from of her but she saw nothing.

Chelsea instinctively started to worry about her boyfriend. Today was their two year anniversary and they planned to have lunch two hours ago. "Maybe the ship is just late."

Julia smiled at Chelsea's optimism. She had always admired that about her. "Yeah, that's probably it. Hey, the winds picking up and it's getting kind of chilly. Let's go to the shop and I'll make some hot tea. I'm sure Vaughn will be here soon so don't worry."

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><p>"Good morning, Taro," Chelsea said to the hot-headed ex-rancher who was still full of life.<p>

"Morning, Chelsea. I feel a storm coming so make sure to take extra care of what you need to do before," the old man said with a sad face.

Chelsea's heart sank when she heard that. Vaughn's still not here and a storm is making its way to the island. Is this a coincidence or just bad luck? "Thank you, I'll be sure to do that."

After saying hello to everyone on her usual foraging routine, she was drawn back to the beach. She could feel it. The wind seemed to be howling now. The clouds looked like they were about to drop out of the sky. The waves were harsher. Nothing seemed right. Chelsea looked up at the sea one more time before leaving, making sure to check every inch of the horizon. Right before she decided to leave, she spotted a black speck in the ocean and a hundred different emotions flowed through her at once.

"Hey Chelsea!" A voice yelled from far away. It wasn't her Vaughn though.

"Hey Denny!" She called back and waited for him to make his way back to the island. When she saw his face, she frowned as her spirits dropped even more, and she didn't even know if that was possible at this point. "What's wrong?"

"Um… well, I found this while I was out in the morning," he replied and handed her a black cowboy hat. "I tried to find him but..."

Chelsea slowly reached to get it, her whole body shaking while her pretty blue eyes started resembling the sea in front of her. Suddenly, it was harder to breath as the air around the two of them got thick. Her hands held the rim of the hat and she stared at it from an arm's length. How many times had she stolen this hat from him, just to get him to chase her around the farm like little kids? How many times had he playfully placed this same hat on her, which was way too big, and tickled her to death while her eyes were covered? How many times had she taken the hat to blackmail him to do the simplest things? No, she wasn't trying to be mean, she just wanted to see that cute face he'd put on for her so she'd give it back. And now she has the same hat in her hands but where's the guy that she messed with? The guy that she blackmailed? The guy that she loves with all of her heart? Chelsea's mind was working on overdrive now, trying to process all of this but before she could finish, she collapsed onto the cold, grainy sand. Her petite body wouldn't respond.

"Chelsea? Chelsea, hang on!" Was the last thing she heard before her mind went black and her body went numb.

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><p>"Mama, I think Chelsea's waking up."<p>

The passed out brunette groaned before giving a cough, which caused a chain reaction of thick, mucusy coughs that made her want to claw her throat out.

"Here, sweetheart, drink this," Mirabelle, Julia's loving mother said as she brought Chelsea a cup of warm water. "It looks like you're sick."

She was bundled up in Vaughn's bed. His hat was on the nightstand beside her. She slowly sat up as far as her body would allow her and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her usual pale skin was whiter and her skin looked less full of life, although her cheeks were bright red, indicating a fever. Her eyes were droopy and her hair was a mess.

"Is Vaughn back yet?" Chelsea managed to croak out, although her throat was on fire.

"No but the storm passed over last night and Denny, Lanna, and a few other fishermen are out looking for any signs of the ship," Julia answered as she gave Chelsea a pill.

"Don't worry; I'm sure he's fine. Now, just get some more rest and let the medicine kick in. We'll be sure to wake you up when Vaughn is here," Mirabelle said as she guided Chelsea back into the bed and tucked her in.

"Promise?" Chelsea questioned, but sleep was already taking over and she fell asleep into the blankets that smelled like him before anyone could answer.

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><p>After much protest from Mirabelle, Chelsea finally convinced her to let her go to the beach, as long as Julia watched over her. Honestly, she still felt like trash but she just needed to know if the search team found anything. Chelsea started running toward her destination before Julia could argue and ended up coughing again when she got there.<p>

"Hey Lanna!" Julia yelled in the direction of the blond girl on the dock.

"Oh, hey Julia. Chelsea," she said while giving each girl a smile. "Oh my, are you OK? Do you need something to drink?"

Chelsea nodded her head and managed to wheeze out a no.

"Have you guys found anything yet?" Julia said, not beating around the bush.

"We've found some small things like wallets, silverware, and even animal brushes but no person or animal was in sight. Oh, and did you hear that Taro said that there was going to be another storm tonight? Can you believe it?" Lanna said, her eyes wide like it was the craziesst thing ever.

"Again? Why does summer have to be so complicated?" Julia asked, annoyed. "Come on Chels, let's go back to my house before the storm starts. We don't want you to get even sicker."

"I can't."

Lanna and Julia looked at each other with raised eyebrows. "What do you mean you can't?"

"I'm not leaving without news on Vaughn," Chelsea said, walking over to the end of the dock and sitting down cross-legged.

"Don't be crazy, Chelsea! You're not staying out in the storm," Julia said, hands on her hips.

"I'm not leaving until I see him, OK?" Chelsea said with hurt in her eyes. Lanna and Julia looked at each other with worry, unsure about what to do.

"Look, Chelsea, I know you want to see Vaughn. We all do but you can't risk your life just to see him. Think about this first," Julia said, walking up to her and placing her hand on Chelsea's shoulder.

"You don't understand, Jules. I love him," Chelsea replied without looking at the two girls, her eyes trained on the water in front of her. She shrugged off the helping hand that Julia gave her and the hurt girl walked back to Lanna.

"But Chelsea, you're sick and-" Lanna said before she interrupted.

"I don't care! I'm not leaving without him," Chelsea said, now with tears of frustration in her eyes. Julia and Lanna silently argued with each other about what to do, each girl conflicted about what she should do.

"You're really not budging?" Julia asked again.

"No."

The two girls gave a sigh, looked at Chelsea with regret in their eyes, and walked away to talk to Denny at his house. Chelsea sat there as the storm slowly intensified. Every half hour, someone different would come and try to convince her to leave but she sent each one back with the look in her eyes. Everyone could tell that she was hurt and heartbroken without Vaughn but no one could do a thing about it, which was the hard part. Within a couple of hours, the world around her seemed to have transformed to the day of the storm two days ago. The wind whipped her hair around her, making her look wildly beautiful without her signature red bandana. Water started to pour down and soon, she was coughing again as she sat with her knees pulled up to her face. The rain was so heavy that she could barely see a couple of feet in front of her, and the wind didn't help either. Every once in a while, she had to dodge the debris that was being blown around. She even saw whole trees being ripped out of the ground and being tossed aside like they were feathers. Flying trees; she never thought she'd see one of these. Just when she was about to give up, she saw something moving in the water floating toward the island.

"Vaughn?" She tries to yell desperately but to no avail. The roaring winds around her drown out all noise but the shadowy thing in the water is getting closer.

Chelsea could feel strength returning back to her slowly. She could feel that it was Vaughn. The girl dived into the cold, rough water and slowly swam to the object. She's panting hard from the sudden exercise but her arms and legs propel her forward. Her weak muscles are now starting to get sore as her heart is pounding hard in her chest. Oxygen is harder to find the farther she swims. As she gets closer, she can confirm her thoughts.

"Vaughn!" She tried yelling again but the figure doesn't look up. The person has his head down as he hangs onto a piece of wood.

"Vaughn!" Chelsea yelled again as she swims even closer, now being about four or five feet away from him. His head of silver hair is lifted up and the man's purple eyes widen as they make contact with Chelsea's blue ones. He then pushes himself forward with the help of the wood, trying to make it to his girlfriend.

"Chelsea!" Vaughn yelled back, his voice hoarse from days of not being used. The two finally embrace after fighting against the tides. They're both crying but it seems to mix with the rain pouring from above. The couple then helped each other swim back to shore but Chelsea can tell that he's in a worse state than she is. His face has lost its muscular shape and his skin is now just hanging onto his bones. He's thinner and his breathing is irregular but what else did she expect from someone who has been out at sea for about two days?

"Come on, we need to get you to Mirabelle!" Chelsea said before having another coughing fit. She had to lean against him so she wouldn't collapse. Her whole body hurt and she trembled as she started running with him behind her. They almost made it to town before she heard a yell from behind her. She turned around to find that Vaughn was on the ground, his back pinned to the sand by a giant branch. She ran back to him and attempted to remove the large piece of wood, ignoring the splinters that the rough wood was giving her.

"Chelsea, stop," Vaughn said, his face serious.

"Don't tell me to stop! I'm getting you free!" She yelled at him, angry that he would try to stop her from saving him.

"You're not going to lift this thing. It's too heavy. Just stop," he said again.

Chelsea was sobbing hysterically now, ignoring his protests. "No! No, no, no! I'll get Gannon... I'll get this thing off of you."

His left hand was free from the branch and he used it to reach for her arm, making it impossible for her to leave him. Even though he was weak, he was still stronger than Chelsea. He waited for her to calm down slightly before he reached into his coat pocket and took out a box. "Here, Honey. Don't forget about how much I love you, OK?"

"What are you talking about? You are not going to die!" She said, unable to control herself anymore. He placed the box onto her lap. Vaughn then lifts his hand up with all of his remaining energy and wipes at the corner of her right eye before it drops into her own hands. She moved one of her hands to his head, cradling it against her until she felt something warm and wet. He was bleeding and was dying and she couldn't do a thing about it now. She felt like she was falling.

"Chelsea, can you do one more thing for me?" He asked, slightly turning his head toward her and smiling at her. She didn't say anything but nodded a yes. "Tell me the last words that you accidentally blurted out on our first date."

Her eyes were overflowing again as the memory came back. "I love you."

"I was madly in love with you since the time I told you you were annoying," Vaughn said, making her give a sad smile. "And I just want you to remember that I'll love you forever and always. Even when I was lost at sea, all I could think about was you and your beautiful smile."

"I was thinking about you too, Vaughn...," Chelsea whimpered as she buried her face into what was exposed of his chest. She then lifted her head up and kissed him one more time but this time, it was filled with more love than it ever had before. Her tears dropped onto his face as she looked at him and they mixed with his.

"Please remember. OK Honey?" he said one more time. Vaughn's smile never left his face as his eyes slowly began to close.

"Vaughn! No! You can't leave me! I love you! Please come back!" Chelsea yelled at him, clutching at his hand harder and pulling him to her. When he didn't respond, she laid her head down onto his chest and cried until the storm passed.

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><p>Chelsea woke up in her own bed. There was medicine and a glass of water on her nightstand. There was also the box that he gave her. Vaughn.<p>

"Chelsea? You up?" Julia asked as she came into the room from the kitchen.

Chelsea slowly reached for the small, white box as Julia sat on the edge of her bed. Chelsea could tell that Julia had recently been crying. Her eyes were red and she had bags under her eyes. When Chelsea opened the box, there was an amethyst ring. Engraved on the ring were the words "I love you". In the top lid of the box was a small note that read "To Chelsea, the love of my life and the one and only girl for me. Will you marry me? -Vaughn". Chelsea's eyes started watering again and Julia pulled her into a hug, both of them crying for the loss of their best guy friend but both for different reasons.

"I love you, Vaughn. Forever and always. Please don't forget that," Chelsea muttered to him while clutching onto her friend, afraid to let go and face reality.

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading! Please, leave your opinions in a review and let me know what you think about it, what could be changed, errors, etc. <strong>

**E person :)**

**12-14-11**


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